Personal Learning Environments

How is the educational landscape going to change in the near future? Which are the key trends and new directions which are going to influence the most we study, research and learn? Photo credit: pnrphoto New, decentralized forms of learning such as personal learning environments , non-traditional and more flexible approaches like just-in-time and informal learning , are bound to shape differently not just the way you learn but more than anything the way you think and conceptualize learning as an activity. How much the ability to share, to connect to other people and networks and to leverage collaboration technologies will directly affect your ... Read Full Story

I'm an invited speaker for the online PLE/PLN Symposium that has been organised by George Siemens and Stephen Downes for next week. I will be working in the Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland, and will be speaking via the Elluminate platform, next Thursday (15th October) at around 1600 BST. I'm looking forward to talking about my own concept of personal learning environments and personal webs in my talk which is entitled: 'It's Personal'. I will post my slides later on slideshare , but in the meantime here's a taste of what's to come taken from the symposium website: A symposium will be held ... Read Full Story

" Personal Learning Environments are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to set their own learning goals manage their learning; managing both content and process communicate with others in the process of learning and thereby achieve learning goals." (Source: Wikipedia ) Photo credit: Yuri Arcurs The concept of “ personal learning environment ” represents the most recent evolutionary step in a learner-centered approach to education. " A PLE may be composed of one or more subsystems: As such it may be a desktop application, or composed of one or more web-based services. ... Read Full Story

There has been a lot of talk recently about PLEs (Personal Learning Environments) and everyone it seems, wants to know what they are, what they contain, or if they will replace current institutional VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) or LMS (Learning Management System) provision. No one seems to be able to agree on what a PLE is. I've heard several people complain recently that they can't find enough published research in the area of PLEs either. I simply point them in the direction of the journal I edit: Interactive Learning Environments . Last year we ran a special issue on PLEs, and to give you ... Read Full Story

In both developing and developed countries, more organizations are adopting learning tools such as online courses and LMS service to benefit disadvantaged sectors of society. Take Project Rising Women in Argentina, or Project SITA in India, and UCLA Extension in the U.S.; three projects with altruistic and effective programs. Rising Women is an Argentine nonprofit that works with a women’s shelter on the edge of the largest ghetto in Buenos Aires, providing a computer technology center to the women in the shelter. The project provides the women—often teenage, lower-class, under-educated, abused and/or homeless single mothers–with valuable computer skills that help them gain employment and ... Read Full Story